Tag: Black Homeowners of TC

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 1543 3rd St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1543 3rd NW to Pearl L. and William A. Nixon.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Nixons borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1543 3rd St NW to Ms. Dorothy J. Snowden, a divorcee.
• December 1950 Ms. Snowden borrowed $3,375 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1961 the Nixons were released from their mortgage and owned their half free and clear.
• May 1964 Ms. Snowden was released from her mortgage and owned her half free and clear.
• December 1965 Ms. Snowden sold her half to George Basiliko….. sigh.
• October 1977 Basiliko sold his half to Cathleen Marie Tate, Francine Louise,  and John Tate.
• October 1977 the Tates borrowed $5,300 at 9% APR from trustees Leonard  C. Collins and John M. Swagart.
• August 1990 the estate of Pearl L. Mullen and William J. Nixon sold the other half to Tates.

This was a decent one…. until Ms. Snowden sold her half to Geo. Basiliko. Both original buyers managed to pay off their loans within 10-13 years.

In the 1950 census husband and wife William and Pearl Nixon lived at 619 Q St. NW in the lower unit. William was an AfAm hospital janitor, his wife was a homemaker and they lived with 2 roomers. William married Pearl Lillian Garner in 1924 in Guilford, NC. By the 1930 census they were in Washington, DC living at 1416 New Jersey Ave NW with their 4 year old son William James Calvin Nixon. During World War II they lived at 1721 11th St NW.

Their neighbor Dorothy Jacqueline Wallace was born July 13, 1927 in Woodville, VA. At some point she married Bernard M. Snowden Jr. They had three sons and a daughter. She died in 1989 and it appears she managed to avoid several censuses.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 219 Bates St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 219 Bates NW to Alma L. and Andrew A. Simms.
• January 1951 the Simms borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (Recorded 05/01/1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 219 Bates St NW to Ella B. and Richard H. Simms.
• December 1950 Ella and Richard Simms borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1954 Alma and Andrew Simms lost their half to foreclosure and Evans, Levin and Taube regained possession of the property via an auction.
• June 1959 new Colonial Investments partner Harry A. Badt, Evans, Taube, the survivors of Nathan Levin and their spouses, as part of a large property package, sold 219 Bates to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• October 1960 the remaining Simms lost their half of the house to foreclosure. Badt, Evans and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• February 1961 Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold the remaining half to George Basiliko.
• July 1970, as part of a larger property package (document 1970011877), Sophia and George Basiliko sold 219 Bates St NW to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• August 1979, as part of a larger property package (document #7900028039), DC RLA sold/transferred the house to the Bates Street Associates Inc.

This house fits the unfortunate pattern. There were foreclosures, it went to the Basilikos, DC RLA and eventually the Bates Street Associates.

So with the two Simms households I had to figure out if and how these people were related. Andrew Augustus Simms born in La Plata, MD on December 1924, married Alma Lucy Moore June 30, 1942 in DC. Richard Hubert Simms was his younger brother born August 1927 in DC. Richard married Ella Elizabeth Butler in June of 1946.

So they were related. This seems to have made the story more tragic.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 214 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold the whole of 214 Q NW to Ms Sarah Cathey.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Cathey borrowed $6,250 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• July 1955, the widowed Mrs. Cathey borrowed $4,500 at 6% APR from trustees Spencer E. Fitzgerald and Frank Paroni.
• August 1962 Cathey was released from her Levin & Weightman loan.
• January 1968 Elizabeth H. Pinkney, Cathey’s daughter and sole heir, borrowed $2,595 from trustees HF Brown III and Peter M. Lampris to pay R & W Construction Co.
• January 1972 document #1972001370, we’re informed that Sarah Cathey died July 28, 1957 and Elizabeth Pinkney became Mrs. Elizabeth Hughes. Mrs. Hughes and her husband Joseph Hughes sold the home to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency for $11,400.

I’ll stop there with DC RLA. This was a good one. A widow was able to purchase a whole house, not half a house like other WSIC homes. There was no foreclosure, especially after obtaining a loan outside of the Colonial Investment bubble.

I was able to find a little something about Ms. Cathey looking at Ancestry. In the 1954 DC city directory she was a maid living at 214 Q St NW, proving she was a homeowner. In the 1940 census she was renting a unit at 1610 1st St NW living with her daughter, then Elizabeth Hall, and three grandchildren. She was a Black widow from South Carolina, working as a maid for an office building. Elizabeth was also listed as a Black widow and was not employed. For the 1930 census the family lived at 34 E St NW. It was just Ms. Cathey, working as a domestic, her married daughter and her newborn grandson.

Via the 1930 census I was able to find her in the 1950 census, which was interesting. The family lived at 60 Q St NW Apt #2. Cathey was still working as a maid at 60 years old, but for an insurance company. Her 39 year old daughter had a job as a telephone operator for an apartment building. Her 22 year old grandson, William F., worked as a file clerk for the IRS. Her two other grandchildren were school aged. Also in the house hold was William’s wife who worked as a typist for the Navy Dept and Cathey’s 56 year old widowed brother Henry Thompson, who did not have a job.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 140 Q St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 140 Q NW to Harriet B. and Paul S. Goodwin.
• Jan 1951 the Goodwins borrowed $3,150 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 140 Q St NW to George and wife Willie M. Cromer.
• Jan 1951 the Cromers borrowed $3,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1954 the Goodwins sold their half back to Evans, Levin, and Taube.
• November 1954 the Cromers lost their half of the property to foreclosure. Evans, Levin, and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• March 1959 the Goodwins were released from their mortgage.
• March 1959 the Colonial Investment Co partners and the Levin survivors, in a larger property package, sold their interest in the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• July 1970 (doc# 1970011877) Basiliko, as part of a large package, sold 140 Q and many other properties to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• June 1980 DC RLA entered into a contract (doc # 8000020221) with BSA (Bates Street Associates) and transferred a large number of properties to the venture (doc # 8000020294, signatories on p.5) Bates Street Associates (BSA).

I’ll end it with the BSA. So there was one foreclosure and that was the same month when the remaining owners sold the property back to Colonial Investments. Then it went to George Basiliko, known landlord of “slum” properties. And then the pattern is continued when it was sold to DC RLA who passed it on to BSA.

George Cromer in the 1950 census was living at an apartment building at 1031 8th St NW with his wife Willie and their one year old son. He repaired tracks for the transit company. Prior to that, during WW2, they were at 1241 8th St NW and he worked for what is now PEPCO. According to that description he was a dark complexioned Afro-American man who was 5’9″ and 183 lbs.

In 1950 the Goodwins were living with family at 411 1/2 Franklin St NW…. Dang those houses are tiny. Less than 1000 sq ft tiny and there were 4 adults and 5 minor children in the house. Four of the children were the Goodwins’ kids. Paul was working for a construction company and Harriet was a maid. Her father Lewis Ruffin was a carpenter. Paul died in 1954, so that could be the reason the property was sold back to Colonial Investments.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 123 Bates St NW:

• April 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 123 Bates St NW to Clark E. and Mattie E. Otey.
• April 1951 the Oteys borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 123 Bates St NW to Joseph B. and Lucille Robinson.
• April 1951 the Robinsons borrowed $1,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1954 the Robinsons sold the property back to Colonial Investments’ owners.
• August 1958 the Oteys lost their half of the property to foreclosure. New Colonial Investment Co. new partner (Levin died) Harry A. Badt, Evans, and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• March 1959 the Colonial Investment Co partners and the Levin survivors, in a larger property package, sold their interest in the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• 1971-1978? or sometime before, as I cannot locate a document, Basiliko sold 123 Bates to DC RLA.
• July 1978 DC RLA had a contract with the Bates Street Associates for many Truxton Circle properties.

The story of the Bates Street Associates is a whole other post on its own. So there is one foreclosure and then the usual story with Basiliko and the DC RLA.

Sometime I’ll put up some biographies of the owners if their name was unusual enough (no Smiths, or Jones or Johnsons). In this case I’m looking at Clark Ellis Otey who lost half of 123 Bates to foreclosure. He was born April 25, 1913 in Bedford, VA. In 1939 he married Mattie Ethel Penn and in 1940 lived in Bedford where he was a waiter and she worked as a cook. In 1948 they lived at 752 Euclid NW in DC and Clark was working as a clerk for the government. They managed to avoid the 1950 census. Looking at the DC Recorder of Deeds, they did not buy any other DC properties.

It appears they moved back to Bedford. Clark died in 1986 at the age of 72 in Bedford. Mattie also died in Bedford in May of 2005. It appears they did not have any children.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 36 O St NW:

• June 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 36 O St NW to Evelyn M. and Henry T. Venson.
• June 1951 the Vensons borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 36 O St NW to Lottie B. and Albert J. Paul.
• March 1951 the Pauls borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• August 1954 the Vensons lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• November 1961 as part of a larger property package, new owner Harry A. Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold half of 36 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• December 1965 the Pauls paid off their mortgage.
• July 1971 it appears that Basiliko sold his half to Housing System Dev. and Construction Corporation in a large property package. However…..
• April 1978 Basiliko sold his half to Lottie B. and Linda Marie Paul, finally bringing the whole property under the Paul family.

So there was one foreclosure and it became a Basiliko property, but it has a happy ending with the Pauls.

For fun, and because their names were unique, let’s look at the Vensons. According to an Ancestry family tree Henry Truitt Venson was born in 1918 in Atlanta, GA and died in 1964. During WWII he was living 1126 6th St NE, and his mother was in the TC at 1333 1st St NW. February 1955, his mother Hattie Venson Thrasher had been living at 43 Florida Ave NW. In 1959 he was charged with operating a lottery (running a numbers game), living on Morgan St. NW.

His wife, Evelyn Mary Robinson, was born the daughter of Madeline Swann and George W. Robinson April 7, 1926 in Washington, DC. She married Walter Bail Fields in 1943 and had a daughter Mary. In 1959 she married Henry T. Venson…. the dates aren’t lining up, but people are complicated. During the 1950 census she was separated, living with her parents and her children at 201 O St NW. In 1959 when she and Harry officially tied the knot, they were both living at 221 Morgan St NW, in Truxton Circle.

In 1954 the Vensons purchased 1625 4th St NW, also in Truxton Circle. However the previous owner was foreclosed upon and they lost that house too in 1956.

Evelyn moved to Rocky Mount, NC at some point, and that is the city where she died.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 24 O St NW:

• February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 24 O NW to widow Ethel and her son Malvern F. Jackson.
• February 1951 the Jacksons borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 24 O St NW to Irene M. and William P. McCall.
• Jan 1951 the McCalls borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• September 1954 the McCalls lost their home to foreclosure. The property returned to Evans, Levin and Taube via an auction.
• September 1954 the Jacksons sold the property back to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• March 1959 as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold 24 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• July 1971 the Basilikos sold the whole of 18 O St NW to the Housing System Dev. and Construction Corporation.I don’t know what connection, if any the Housing System Dev. and Construction Corp had to DC’s RLA. Basiliko did these with several other O Street houses. And like several properties on O Street, they were condemned by the city.

Anywho, there was one foreclosure. Colonial Investments bought back the property and this is not the only time they have done this.

Lastly, looking up the Jacksons, I discovered that Malvern Jackson was living at 18 O St NW in January 1951, when he applied for a marriage license to marry Genevieve E. Lynch. He and Genevieve had a baby boy in late August 1951.  He died in 2015, as a widower to Genevieve and survived the death of one of his sons. They had three children.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 22 O St NW:

• February, 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 22 O St NW to Flora V. and Richard T. Kidd.
• February 1951 the Kidds borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 22 O St NW to Bessie O. and Leroy Howard*.
• March 1951 the Howards borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1955 the Howards lost their half to foreclosure and via an auction the ownership returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube.
• June 1957 the Kidds lost their half to foreclosure. The property returned to Evans, Taube, and new partner Harry Badt via an auction.
• June 1957 (recorded July 1958) as part of a larger property package, the Badts (Harry A. and wife Jennie) transfer/sell their interest in 22 O St NW to Nathan Levin’s survivors.
• March 1959 as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold 22 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• July 1971 the Basilikos, in a large property package, sold (doc 1971013980) 22 O St NW, along with a lot of other houses, to the Housing System Development and Construction Corp.

I’m going to stop at 1971. It is not sold to DC RLA but it was depressingly sold to George Basiliko.

*I noticed the Howards had bought 18 O St NW, next door. And they lost that to foreclosure too in June 1956.

So who were the Howards? They were an African American couple who for the most part lived in Prince George’s County Maryland. So I am not sure if they ever lived in DC during the time of their ownership.

Leroy Howard was born August 27, 1903 in Hertford County, North Carolina. His parents were John and Catherine Howard. He married the daughter of Ed and Annette (nee Gatling) Bonner, Bessie O. Bonner in 1921 in Perquimans, NC, when she was 18 and he was 21.

In the 1930 census the Howards lived in DC. Leroy Howard was listed as a 21 year old laborer renting 1021 50th St quadrant unknown. He lived there with wife, 25 years old, Bessie Howard and their three children Dorothy (7), John E (5), and Colee/ Cora L. (3).

By 1940, the Howards moved to PG County, and lived at 5149 Mash Street, Fairmount Heights, MD, a house they claimed to have owned. A quick look at Fairmount Height’s government website, it appears it was a Black community back then. I once knew where to find historic maps of PG Co. but I don’t feel like hunting them down. My skill set is DC.

The 1950 census had the Howards at 5114 Maple Road in Seat Pleasant, MD. The thing with the 1950 census, ownership status is unknown. Leroy was a self employed laborer. They lived with their three adult children and granddaughter Audrey Washington (1940-2006), daughter of Dorothy May Howard. Dorothy M. Washington also shows up in the 1950 census living in DC as a roomer without her daughter and separated from her husband Norman, living at 1-C 49th St SE.

I can’t find when Leroy died, but Bessie Olivia Howard appeared to have remarried sometime in the 1970s. According to the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, she became Bessie Jenkins in 1975. She was born Oct 8, 1902 and died in 1979.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

I see that two couples (four people) bought this house. Instead of doing my usual format, I will tell the story of these Black homeowners differently.

January 26, 1951 George A. and Gladys L. Watson, along with Lizzie M. and Clayton Williams purchased 137 Bates Street NW from Colonial Investment. Like other buyers they used the only lenders allowed in these transactions, trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman. They borrowed $5,050 and paid it off in February 1963. That same year the property was sold/transferred to the Williams. In 1964, the Williams got a new mortgage with Republic Savings and Loan Association, which was paid off in 1981. Clayton died July 25, 1971 and Lizzie died July 13, 1997 and her estate sold the home in 2018 for $805.5K.

I could not find a lot of information about Clayton Williams, but I was able to find things about Lizzie. In the 1950 census she was living at 95 Fenton Place NE with her four children. Clayton was not there. She was listed as the head and working as a servant for a private household.

George Albert Watson was born March 15, 1904 in Meriwether, Georgia. He married Gladys Elizabeth Littles in 1941 in Washington, DC. During WWII, he was working for the Zabans Mattress Company. Zabans seems to have been a Richmond company but possibly had a location in DC.

During the 1950 Census, George and Gladys were living at 4409 Falls Terrace SE, Apartment 4 with 7 year old daughter Jeresal F. and 4 year old son George Jr. George worked as a box spring maker and Gladys was a clerk typist for the Federal government. When she was single in 1940, she worked as a secretary’s assistant for the N.Y.A. Project. George died in 1967.

From Gladys’ obit: On Saturday, September 15, 2007 at Doctors Hospital of Lanham, MD. The beloved mother of Jearsel F. Watson and George A. (Lee Audrey) Watson, Jr.. Also survived by four grandchildren, three great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.

I could not find an obvious connection between the Williams and the Watsons.